An Unexpected Love
by InfiniteBeauty93
Summary: **COMPLETE REWRITE OF ORIGINAL STORY (PLOT CHANGES)** Bellamy is forced to work with the privileged daughter of two Councilmen, Clarke Griffin, when his sister become desperately ill. With the Ark's laws in play and a secret oxygen crisis threatening the survival of the Space Station the two find each other falling for a person they never thought they would.
1. My Sister, My Responsibility

_**A/n - Hello everyone welcome to the new and revamped "An Unexpected Love". I started this story a couple years ago now but as I've grown as a person (and hopefully a writer) I started to feel disconnected from my stories and really my writing. Truthfully I just wasn't proud of it and felt it was rushed and I could do better. This story in particular bothered me because of how it started out. I used a trope I really find problematic and dislike in a way I don't think I realized when I first wrote this story. Or maybe I've just learned more since writing it. Because of that I wanted to rewrite it. I decided I'd change some plot points, improve my writing and maybe along the way work through some writers block I was having anyway.**_

 _ **I also have plans to rewrite my other big story "Now and Then" (well not so much as rewrite as add more to and edit). So without further ado here's the first chapter of the new version of this story. Hope everyone can understand and support the changes!**_

Chapter 1: My Sister, My Responsibility

 _If you let your guard down for a second…we die Octavia._

Her mother's words echoed through her head as she clutched onto the old stiff pillow with so much force she was surprised her nails didn't cut through the fabric. Biting down on her lip she stuffed her face into the pillow to help block out the sounds of her whimpers. Being quiet was essential to not only her survival but her whole family's.

 _When I gave birth to you I had to fight through the pain, push down any desire to scream and do what I had to do to survive. Because if I had let myself have one moment to cry. One moment to succumb to the pain. I would have died. If you want to survive then you must always do the same. Don't let the smallest bit of weakness shine through. You lose control of the situation and your life isn't the only one in_ _jeopardy_ _._

Their situations weren't exactly the same. Actually they were very far from it, but Octavia knew her mother was right. If she lost control and screamed out in pain her entire family would be dead by the end of the day. But if her mother could keep quiet giving birth to her then she could keep quiet through…whatever this was.

Another rush of sharp pain shot up her side and she felt the rise of vomit. "Crap" she muttered lifting her body up enough off the cold stiff mattress to puke over the side of the bed. She stared blankly at the yellow puddle before the stench of her own bile caused another uprising in her stomach.

"Ugh..."

Using the remainder of her strength she managed to lay herself back down on the bare mattress. The all gray prison they called her family's quarters had never felt more like hell to her. Then again, from the _millions_ of stories she hard heard from her brother, hell was never really described as a gray prison. More like a reddish orange fiery inferno that engulfed its residents in a never ending excruciating tragedy.

Then again those people were considered sinners. That was their punishment for their crimes in her life.

So what was she being punished for?

She sucked in a piercing breath as she felt another swift jab into her side and thought about the stories and their version of hell. Looking back up at the gray ceiling she was only sure of one thing.

Hell came in many colors.

The sound of the door opening brought her back into reality and she pulled her head up to see a familiar male walking towards the tiny bedroom

"O?"

Bellamy. Her brother. Her only friend and one of the only two people she had actual social interaction with.

At least in the fiery version of hell the sinners had each other to communicate with. She was almost jealous of them. As much as she loved her brother and mother her skin crawled with the craving for more social interaction. She ached to just get up and run out the door most days but the consequences kept her grounded.

She saw his face scrunch up. "I threw up on the floor."

"What? Why? What happened?" He stumbled over his words as he frantically rushed over to her, lying the back of his hand to her forehead. "You're burning up."

"I'm sick dumb ass."

"This isn't funny."

"I'm not joking."

Her face was more than pale. It was almost completely white and Bellamy couldn't understand how she had gone from looking fine when he had left to looking like a corpse only ten hours later.

He glanced at the empty bed only a two yards away at the other end of the room then reached over and grabbed the sole blanket they owned off of it. He laid it over his sister before retreating to the tiny bathroom entrance at the end of the bed Octavia resided on.

"When did you start feeling sick? Does mom know? How many times have you thrown up today?" The sound of his voice was accompanied by the soft drizzle of water from the sink plopping into a bucket.

"Geez Bell" Octavia muttered rolling her eyes despite the fact that he couldn't see her. "One thing at a time."

"Octavia."

"I started feeling crappy yesterday. Mom doesn't know. And twice." She stared up at the panels on the ceiling. There were sixteen. Four rows of four. When she was younger used to imagine that they led to secret tunnels around the Ark and that when she was old enough she would travel through them. Nobody would know she was there. It'd be her secret getaway that would allow her to see the whole Ark.

Then maybe just maybe someone else could find out about her. Someone important. But they wouldn't tell the Chancellor or float her family. Instead they'd hire her to be a spy like the ones in some of the stories Bellamy used to read to her. Then she'd sneak around the whole Ark through the secret tunnels to complete her missions. Her boss would sneak her family extra rations for compensation.

For once she wouldn't be trapped in these quarters. Instead there would be a whole world through the tunnels she could still explore. And then, someday, she'd complete a mission so big it would save the Ark. Her identity would be revealed but instead of being punished her whole family would be rewarded for her heroic acts.

When she was twelve climbed up onto the table and ripped one of the panels off the ceiling. There were no tunnels. Just wires. She was truly trapped.

After all the stories Bellamy had read to her about spies were truly _just_ stories. This was reality.

Bellamy came out of the bathroom with a small green bucket and an old brown rag. He grimaced at the puddle as he laid the rag in it and tried to mop up the puke.

"This is gross you know."

She smiled softly through the pain "I think it adds some nice color to the room."

"Unfortunately it also adds its own unique smell." He sighed as he dipped the rag into the water before reapplying it to the floor. "It's probably the flu. I think that can be air born…anyway someone on the ark probably has it and you caught it."

A pain shot up her side and Octavia gasped in pain. She couldn't day dream her way out of this type of pain. "My side Bell. It's my side…" she clenched her teeth together and squeezed her eyes shut in pain. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Bellamy clutched her hand tightly feeling helpless.

They were in trouble.

….….

It was another two hours before their mother came home. Bellamy tried to make Octavia as comfortable as possible but there was nothing he could really do to ease her pain. He had never had the flu. The Ark was usually on top of quarantining any type of outbreak even just the common cold. It was essential on a vessel this size to contain anything that could cause harm to the only survivors of the human race. Still while nausea and fevers were known to be associated with the flu he couldn't be sure.

Even if he did know for sure what was wrong with Octavia finding medicine would be no easy task. And if he was caught…well he was over eighteen which meant he'd be floated. And his biggest issue with that was that he didn't trust his mother to take care of Octavia on her own.

"Where have you been?" He demanded as his weary mother entered through the doorway. She put down a small bag which contained two bottled waters and some rice made on Farm Station.

"Keeping us alive" she said tiredly walking over to the table. "What's wrong did something happen during your guard training?"

"Octavia's sick."

She looked up worry covering the exhaustion on her face only moments before. "What do you mean?" She asked slowly as if afraid to hear the answer.

Bellamy led her to where Octavia was lying. There was sweat dripping down from the seventeen year old's forehead and her brows were knitted tightly together as if she was embracing as much pain as she could.

"Octavia sweetheart what's wrong?" her mother rushed over and crouched down next to the bed.

"It hurts…" Octavia whispered with tears dripping down the cheeks of her flushed face. "My side. " She tapped her hand onto the spot where the pain kept shooting down then closed her eyes bracing for the next wave of agony.

Their mother looked up at Bellamy seriously. "We need to figure out what's wrong with her."

"The flu?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. I've seen people with the flu before. It doesn't look like…this" she motioned her hand over Octavia.

"So what do you suggest?"

She bit her lip in thought as she stared down at her only daughter. Using her sleeve she wiped some of the sweat beads off of Octavia's forehead. A lot of things could be said about Aurora Blake. Things Bellamy tried to hide from Octavia and ignore when the whispers were within his earshot.

But she did love her children.

"I'll go down to medical. Give them the symptoms Octavia has and see what they say. Maybe they'll give me some medicine and we can give it to her."

Bellamy gave her a skeptical look. "And if they don't?"

She huffed in annoyance. "I don't know Bellamy but we have to do something. I'm not going to stand here and watch my only daughter die."

The words made him flinch and he could see the guilt beginning to cross Octavia's face. He didn't want her to blame herself for this. Her life already had enough pain and sacrifice without her adding to the list of ways she believed she was a burden.

"I'll go." Octavia opened her eyes and looked towards her brother in union with her mother. "No offense but you don't have the best reputation around here. It's probably best that if were going to try and lie our way into getting medicine for Octavia that I do it".

It was a low blow and he knew it but at the same time he really believed it to be true. The last thing they needed was for Aurora to owe someone else a favor in exchange for their lives. That is if they were even lucky enough for someone to agree to keep her attempt to gain access to medicine a secret.

"My sister, my responsibility" Bellamy he said softly before going to grab his shoes and heading out the door.

….

"Clarke you're progressing at an amazing rate."

Clarke could feel herself perk up at her mother's words. All she had ever wanted to do since she was a child was be like her mother. To be a doctor, save lives. Now at 18 she was under an apprenticeship with her mother, the head doctor on the Ark.

She finished up the small procedure of inserting a mandatory birth control device into the young girl in the chair. She couldn't have been older than fourteen but it was important that once a girl showed signs of their period they had a device inserted. Unplanned pregnancies on the Ark could be fatal to those involved.

Clarke carefully stitched up the area the device had been implanted. It looked flawless and she knew there would be no scar later on. "You're all set" Clarke said smiling at the girl who looked a bit frightened.

The young redheaded teen nodded nervously as she stumbled off of the examination table. "Uh thanks." She mumbled before heading out the door as Clarke nodded then went on to finish updating the girl's record.

"Really Clarke I'm impressed." Abby added still watching her daughter.

Clarke smiled but being as ambitious as she was felt the compliment fell slightly flat. "It's a very common, very simple procedure". Still she knew her mother wouldn't say she was impressed if she wasn't.

Abby rolled her eyes clearly seeing herself and her own goals in her daughter. "Yes but most apprentices your age aren't doing even the simplest procedures on their own. And you've assisted me on extremely difficult procedures as well. Even Jackson didn't advance this quickly".

Now _that_ felt like a compliment considering Jackson was one of Abby's all time favorite medical apprentices. Clarke considered him to be possibly the second best doctor on the Ark, her mother being the first of course.

They heard a knock and Abby gave permission for entrance.

The tall brunette they had just been speaking of came in with a small smile. "One of the mechanics cut themselves on the job, pretty large gash down his arm. I'd handle it but I'm already dealing with an allergic reaction in room three. Oh and there's some guy in the waiting room complaining of a stomach ache."

"I swear the minute we seem to slow the flow of patients someone else gets hurt" Abby sighed putting away the chart of the girl who had previously been in the room. "Clarke will you take the guy with the stomach ache?"

"By myself?" Clarke asked shocked. Her mother hadn't let her handle a case on her own yet. Yes she had just done the procedure by herself but her mother had been there the whole time. Being completely by herself was…new territory.

"Yes, you're ready." Abby said with a smile then followed Jackson out of the room. Clarke took a deep breath. She was ready, she knew she was. Plus it was a stomach ache. She had just dealt with way worse.

She walked out to the waiting room to see a handsome young man sitting in one of the seats. He couldn't have been too much older than her. Tanned skin, dark curly hair, a face with freckles sparkled over like the stars in the sky. She was slapping herself in her head for noticing all of these things about him. He was her patient.

He looked up at her his dark brown eyes searched her skeptically. "Are you the doctor?"

"Yes", I'm Dr. Clarke Griffin" Clarke said proudly trying to come off as professional as possible despite his handsome features crossing her mind only seconds before. She was young but that didn't mean she couldn't handle the job. "If you'll follow me well have a look at you."

The guy stepped up uncertainly as he held his side as if almost to prove he was ill. He followed behind her entering one of the four patient rooms they had on that Ark. Normally so much space wouldn't be given to one area but it was important that medical was spacious enough in the case of a quarantine.

He sat on the examination table looking around nervously. She couldn't help but notice is fingers playing with the white paper he was sitting on, absentmindedly creating tears.

Maybe he didn't like doctors.

"Name?" Clarke asked opening up the computer files. It was required that everyone be accounted for on the Ark due to population control. And any visits to the hospital wing had to be recorded.

"Bellamy Blake" He said taking his eyes off of the eye chart on the wall and staring at her carefully. It was making her more nervous than she already was given this was her first official patient on her own.

"Okay, Mr. Blake." Clarke took a breath pulling up his file on a small tablet and walking over to him. "You were complaining of a stomach ache?"

"It's more than that." He said quickly, almost defensively motioning to his stomach. "On my side there's been a sharp jabbing pain. And I've had a fever. Oh and I vomited a couple of times. It's probably just the flu. Right?"

She looked up from the tablet. He certainly didn't look like he had the flu. Though he was sweating but that could have been from his obvious nerves. She stuck a thermometer in his mouth which he looked displeased about. "You're temp is normal."

"It wasn't earlier." He countered a bit sharply. He was staring at her hard as though he felt the need to prove himself.

Clarke eyed him suspiciously then looked down at the thermometer again frowning. "Well your temp is fine now. If you're having cramps it could have been something you ate. Food up here has a tendency to do that with the added preservatives to speed up production. But the sharp pains are a bit concerning. Let me check your stomach. Lift up your shirt."

"What?" He asked a bit startled clutching onto the blue t-shirt he had on.

She gave him a look. "I need to see where it's tender."

"Oh…" He lifted up the side of his shirt to reveal the portion of his stomach. "It hurts on the right side".

Clarke bent down and touched his side softly not wanting to hurt him. But he didn't seem to be in much pain. She looked up and he made a wincing face almost on cue. If she was being honest he was a terrible actor.

"There it's killing me. Like someone's stabbing me."

Clarke nodded still feeling skeptical. He really did look fine. "Well your temp is fine and it doesn't feel like anything is off or swollen in your stomach so it's probably just something you ate." She concluded standing up and taking off her plastic gloves.

"What if there was like swelling and a temp though?" Bellamy asked almost desperately.

Clarke clucked her tongue out of habit. "Well those accompanied by sharp pains would cause alarm for appendicitis. But you're appendix isn't swollen from what I can tell so I wouldn't worry."

"What's the treatment for that? Some like medicine or something."

Clarke looked at him again wondering if she was even hiding her disbelief anymore. This guy was fine. In fact he looked perfectly healthy. The likelihood of this visit being a maneuver to gain access to medication for his own personal goals was high.

Still he was looking at her earnestly so she figured it'd be better to give him some sort of answer. "You'd need surgery for that. An inflamed appendix is dangerous. If it is to burst while in you and you didn't get medical attention it would be fatal."

"Surgery?" He muttered almost weakly. Now he looked like he was going to be sick. She was almost tempted to grab the bed pan off the shelf with the way his face turned green. Maybe this wasn't just about the medication.

Still one thing that was for sure was that the guy was hiding something. Clarke scrunched her brows. "Yeah but I just said you don't have it so why are you so worried?"

"I'm not.." He said jumping off his seat nearly toppling over as he did it. "Thanks…" He muttered as he regained control and started to leave but she stopped him.

"You're not sick." She stated as a matter-oh-factly as she put her hand on his arm.

His face was a cross between alarmed and annoyed. "Thanks for the assessment Doc."

"But I think you already know that." She added probably pressing her luck as she blocked the exit.

His dark eyes stared down at her and her heart sped up. Maybe being bold or really nosy in her case wasn't the best idea but she couldn't take her words back now. And she had a really bad feeling about this. So she sucked in a breath and looked back up at him with her arms crossed and eyebrows raised to let him know that she was serious.

"I told you I had a stomach ache. I thought this was a medical ward. You know the place people go to when they have a _medical_ problem." His sarcasm didn't go unnoticed by her. If anything it made her more intrigued. Why would somebody come to the medical center with fake symptoms and then give her attitude? It certainly wasn't a way to make her more sympathetic to him. What was this guys deal?

"Why don't you just tell me why you are really here? I'm a doctor. Maybe I can help."

He stifled a laugh with the roll of his eyes. "Princess the only help I need right now is for someone to get you the hell away from me." He nudged past her despite her statue-like stance and she turned and watched as he walked away.

….….

Clarke opened the door to silence and darkness within her empty quarters. He mother was still at the medical ward. Apparently the mechanic's injury had been more serious than it had appeared and she had been forced to put him through emergency surgery to repair possible damage to the ligament in his arm. Her father must have had to stay at work late again too. It had been happening a lot lately.

She dropped the bag she brought with her to work on the empty old arm chair in the center of her living quarters as she flopped down on the old tan couch. Despite the many holes covered with patched up pieces of cloth she would be naive to think that her quarters weren't one of the few bigger ones on the Ark. Her mother was the Chief of Medical and her father the Chief of Engineering. She had privilege and she wasn't unaware of that.

And at that moment she wasn't sure if it was the doctor in her or the fact that she was well aware of how many others didn't have the same privilege she had that made her keep thinking of Bellamy Blake. Maybe it was also the fact that it was her first real case and she didn't want to let her mother down if something was wrong. Whatever it was it had been haunting her since Bellamy had walked out of the examination room earlier that day.

Why was he there? He clearly wasn't sick. But he was listing off symptoms with such urgency that she couldn't help but think that something else was going on. She wasn't stupid. She knew it wasn't unheard of for people to come into medical lying about being ill in order to get access to medication for their own personal needs.

But swelling in the abdomen, sharp pains, fever, vomiting…they were all signs of appendicitis. It's possible he had read up on the disease…but then he would know that the solution was surgery and not medication.

Something wasn't right and Clarke was too stubborn to just let it go.

She sat up and reached over towards her bag pulling out her tablet. Being a doctor gave her access to patient information including their section and quarters. Still this was a total invasion of privacy…but she had a bad feeling in her gut.

"Section 17" she whispered to herself.

This was probably a bad idea but her feet took her out of the door anyway.

..…

Octavia was getting worse. She was trying to hide the pain which only made Bellamy feel worse about the situation. All he could think about was how she should have been able to go to the medical ward and get the surgery she needed. But instead she was forced to lie their in agony as they stood by and watched her die just because she had been born illegally.

It just made him angry. Angry at the Ark. Angry at his mother. Angry at himself.

Octavia hadn't chosen to be born. It wasn't her choice to live as a prisoner in a cell with no hope of ever getting out. And now her short life was likely going to come to an end when it barely ever had a real beginning.

"Maybe the doctor was wrong. It could still be the flu" his mother offered as she patted a cold cloth on Octavia's forehead.

Bellamy didn't answer her. He didn't have to, they both knew it was false hope.

They jumped in union at a knock at the door.

"Th…fl….floo….r" Octavia muttered trying to sit up but Aurora stopped her. The girl was barely conscious as it was and her breathing was audibly heavier. She looked at her son and nodded her head towards the door.

Bellamy nodded and stepped outside of the room and into the living quarters where the front door was located. He slowly closed the door to the bedroom behind him. His heart was racing fast than he even knew was possible. His hand shook as he placed it onto the knob slowly cracking the door open. Thoughts racing through his mind at a mile a minute.

 _Please don't be a guard. Please don't be a guard._

With a deep breath he looked up and he suspected the surprise was evidence on his face. "Doc?"

The blonde smiled nervously as she stood in front of him. "It's Clarke actually. Clarke Griffin."

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. A Born Rebel

Chapter 2: Born a Rebel

Bellamy quickly shut the large metal door to his quarters behind him and led the familiar blonde a few more feet away from the entrance. It was essential that Octavia wasn't seen or heard by anyone, especially anyone who had any pull with the Council.

Everyone on the Ark knew the name Griffin. Jacob Griffin was the head of Engineering and his wife Abigail Griffin was the head of Medical. On top of that they were both members of the Ark's Council which created and enforced the laws of the Ark; including the strict birth laws which forbid any family from having a second child in order maintain population control. The very law his family had been breaking for the past seventeen years.

And that made Clarke dangerous.

Especially since he wasn't sure how much longer Octavia was going to be able to endure the pain without making a sound. His heart sank at the thought. She shouldn't have been using the last of her strength to try and stay quiet. She should have been using it to stay alive.

It was just another way Octavia had to pay the price for being born.

He looked down at Clarke. She couldn't have been that much younger than him but the hope and energy that came out in her features reminded him that their lives and experiences couldn't have been more different. Her skin was smooth and glowing while his forehead wrinkled with stress lines and eyes drooped with exhaustion. It was just one of the small ways living in the safety of the Council versus living in the burden of secrecy impacted their lives.

But he knew if he didn't notice those small facial distinctions and looked at her as she was now, out of her scrubs and in normal clothing, he wouldn't know right off the bat that she was one of the privileged. Her long sleeved navy blue top was as raggedy and torn as any of the clothing on the Ark. The blonde locks on her head flowed naturally in an effortless braid around the side of her neck tied up with a broken knotted rubber band at the end. Even her jeans had stains that almost looked like paint. Yet there was a natural beauty that surrounded her that had nothing to do with her privilege that he may have found himself distracted in if it wasn't for the dire situation at hand.

"Why are you here?" There was an edge in his voice he hoped didn't tip off her suspicions.

She bit her lip as though she was uncertain if she should even be there. Looking down at her wrist she began to play with a blue, green, and purple braided string bracelet as she spoke softly "I…well".

"What?" It came off snappier than he meant but the longer she stood their in front of them the more likely she was to hear Octavia.

Obviously not liking his tone, she let go of the bracelet and looked up at him with a new determination in her eyes. Almost like she silently communicating with him that she was not someone who could be scared off.

"I don't think I was fair to you before." She started, eliminating any signs that she had been nervous about this confrontation before. "Obviously you described some concerning symptoms earlier today and I don't feel that I took them as seriously I should have as your doctor. While the symptoms were not being exhibited at the moment I should have taken more care to make sure there was nothing going on. If I'm being honest here you were my first real patient…"

"I'm sorry I was _what_?" His jaw dropped a little but her face didn't waver at his panic. "You're telling me this was your first day as a doctor?"

"No, of course not" she waved her hand in front of her with a slight roll of her eyes. Bellamy couldn't help but notice they were as blue as the skies in all the drawings of Earth he'd ever seen but he didn't let it sway his annoyance."I just mean you were the first patient I've had on my _own,_ " she continued. "All of the other patients I've worked on I've either had another doctor observing or assisting me. Of course this does not mean I'm not fully capable of…"

"You've got to be joking me."

Her eyebrows raised to accompany an irritated look on her face. He could swear her sky blue eyes darkened. "You have a real interrupting problem you know that?"

He folded his arms in argument "No I have a problem with being assigned to a doctor who has no idea what she's doing."

She crossed her arms instinctively, almost as a way to counter him. "I'll have you know I have spent more hours assisting on surgeries than any other surgeon at my age in the history of the Ark Medical Program."

"And I'm sure that has everything to do with your skills as a doctor and nothing to do with your last name." It was a low blow and he knew it but he was frustrated. He was already worried about the probability of his sister dying in the room behind him and now he found out that in his desperate attempt to try and save her he hadn't even been given a real doctor. He really hated the Ark.

She looked slightly hurt by the comment and he felt a twinge of guilt but it didn't change the situation. She needed to go.

"Listen…I came here to make sure I'm doing all I can as a doctor for my patient, not to argue with you. The symptoms you described do cause an alarm for appendicitis and…"

He heard a noise from the quarters and forced a cough to cover it up. It stopped Clarke's train of words and she looked up at him in confusion.

"You have a cough too?" Her brows scrunched in confusion.

At least she hadn't heard Octavia.

"Yeah I guess. Look I think I over exaggerated my symptoms earlier. Really I'm feeling better now so it was probably something I ate…" He could feel his senses heightened with more of an awareness now than ever that Clarke was standing only feet away from his quarters and his illegal sister. He might have gotten lucky the first time but if Octavia made one more sound he wasn't sure luck would be on his side.

"But…" Clarke began but Bellamy put his hand on her shoulder in attempt to lead her away from the door.

His heart stopped at a crash and moan from the other side of the door.

Without thinking Bellamy reacted on instinct and swung around, plowing back into the quarters and into the bedroom. He immediately saw Octavia on the ground in a swirl of new vomit, his mother reaching toward her daughter.

"What the hell happened!" He leaned down to Octavia's level in attempt to help his sister up. "O? Are you okay?"

"Trying to get…to the bathroom" she breathed out weakly as she laid back into her brother. "I'm sorry".

He glared up at his mother. "She wanted to try Bellamy" Aurora replied weakly.

"If she wanted to put a helmet on and go for a space walk outside would you let her?" He spat back in clear annoyance. He looked down at his sister who was practically limp in his arms. She had sweat dripping down her forehead combining with her tears to form a puddle on her cheek. He could feel the heat from her fever radiating off of her as he grabbed one of the pieces of scrap from his mother's tailoring business off the floor and began to wipe the vomit off his sisters face.

"Bellamy"

Bellamy looked up to see the panic registering on his mother's face. He turned to see the Clarke staring down at Octavia with concern.

"Appendicitis" Clarke whispered her eyes locked on the barely conscious brunette in front of her. "She's the one with appendicitis…" She looked up at Bellamy now. "But why wouldn't she just go to medical herself?"

"Bell?" Octavia whispered with her eyes fluttering open and closed.

Bellamy looked at his sister and then back up at Clarke. The fear he had been carrying in his chest since he was six years old was at last seeing the light. They had been caught. This wasn't just the nightmare he'd have where Octavia would be taken from them, his mother would die and he'd await his own death while replaying in his mind everything he did wrong and should have done to prevent it. There was no waking up from this one and seeing that his family was still safe. Because this wasn't a nightmare, it was reality.

He would give his life for his sister and with the daughter of two councilmen staring down at Octavia he was about to. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to try to save her life in the process.

"Listen" He pleaded looking at Clarke earnestly. "She's…she's sick. Just please. If you're half the doctor you claim to be then please save her life."

"Bellamy…" Aurora warned but he put his hand up to motion for her to stay quiet.

Clarke didn't move. She continued to stare at the three of them in confusion. "Why can't she go to medical?"

Bellamy ignored the question looking back down at Octavia. "She has all the symptoms I described to you earlier. When I came to you I thought you'd give me some medicine and I'd be able to give it to her. I didn't know she'd need surgery…"

"She can't go to medical" Clarke repeated but it wasn't a question this time. She looked once more between the three of them."She's your sister. She's an illegal."

Bellamy looked away from her and back to his mother. He could see the desperation and defeat in her eyes. Seventeen years. They had kept Octavia hidden for seventeen years. It was probably a record.

But they both knew that it couldn't last forever. The nightmare was bound to come true at some point.

"That's why you're hiding her and why she couldn't come to medical herself. I couldn't figure out why you were lying before but now it's clear. I mean you all have the same eyes." Clarke began to ramble placing all of the pieces together as she stared at them. "I just mean I see the resemblance."

Bellamy stared at her with desperation in his eyes. "Look I know we've broken the law okay? And my mother and I" he glanced towards Aurora who just nodded sadly in return "we will deal with the consequences for keeping her a secret but…please help her…" he looked at Octavia "None of this is her fault…"

Clarke didn't say anything, instead walked over and knelt down next to Octavia and Bellamy. She laid the back of her hand onto Octavia's forehead with a concentrated look on her face. Octavia shuffled underneath the touch and fluttered her eyes open.

"Who are you?" she asked in a whisper laced with panic.

Clarke gave a small smile. "I'm Clarke."

"She's a doctor O." Bellamy said eyes locked on Clarke. "She's going to help you. Right?" There was clear desperation in the question.

Clarke looked back at him, "She needs surgery and I've never done this surgery by myself".

"Have you assisted on it? Or at least seen it done?"

"Yeah" she nodded slowly. "I need to see her stomach" She explained looking between Bellamy and Aurora before pulling up the bottom of Octavia's shirt.

The side of her stomach was swollen. Bad. It didn't take Clarke to say if for Bellamy to know that they were running out of time.

"Bad?" Octavia whimpered but no one responded.

A sigh escaped from Clarke's lips as she pulled the shirt back down. "I'm going to need some time to figure out how we're going to do this." She said slowly standing up.

"We don't have time" Bellamy breathed out as he helped Aurora take Octavia so he could follow Clarke out.

"We also don't have a surgery room in these quarter" Clarke stated turning as the two entered the door. "Just give me some time to figure this out." Her voice was soft and she gave a sad smile.

He shook his head. "How do I know you're not just leaving to turn my family in."

She put her hand on his arm in a comforting instinct. "I'm a doctor, Bellamy. And I became one so I could save lives not end them."

…

She wasn't sure how exactly to process what had just happened and feared if she went back to her quarters her parents would notice something was wrong so the first place she went was to her favorite bridge by her best friend Wells' old quarters. The area and former quarters had been converted to a complete storage unit in the past couple of years but she and Wells would still come down here and reminiscence about their childhood and all the times they sat here looking out at the stars.

Now a days no one besides maintenance came down to this area which allowed for Clarke to sit on the bridge in peace and quiet. She could read, draw or just sit and day dream and she didn't have to worry about all the people yelling at her to go back to her quarters and move out of the way as they did when her and Wells made this their spot as children.

Now it was just her and the view of Earth and space.

And the Blakes.

She knew she had no intention of turning them in from the moment she figured out what was going on. She was born under councilmen and best friends with the Chancellor's son but she had never agreed with many of the decisions that came from the Politician's on the Ark, even at times her mother. Her father's views had always swayed more towards what Clarke's were and for that she was grateful the Ark had him, but the whole reason her and Wells had gotten attached to this bridge was because of their need for escape as children during the many political discussions between their parents.

The first time she realized she didn't agree with many of the Ark's laws was when she was eight.

At the time she had a close friend named Fox. They had both taken up an interest in art at an early age so they would often get together in their quarters and find any tools or materials they could use to draw or model with. A lot of the time this resulted in them making statues out of odds and ends as writing utensils were limited on the Ark.

They had gone to Fox's quarters one day after school and began to make a fort-like sculpture out the furniture in the room. They had just grabbed all the blankets they could find in the quarters and were beginning to drape them over the furniture when a knock came to the door.

Fox's dad had been home and he opened it to reveal two guards. Clarke could remember the look in his face when the guards informed him that his wife had been arrested for giving away a free package of rations to one of the children from Mecha Station. Despite the fact that it was well known that this child's mother traded her daughter's rations for herself, Fox's mother was to be floated the next day for her crime.

Clarke had gone home crying that day to her parents. She didn't understand why Fox had to loose her mother and why the Ark was punishing her for trying to help somebody else. Her mother had explained to her that the Ark had laws for a reason and if those laws were not followed then the Ark would not be survivable. People were not allowed to have more rations than they were given in order to prevent the Ark from running out of food. She said it was sad but the harsh reality of their lives.

But Clarke knew that the richer families on the Ark got more slightly more in their rations than the poor so in her eyes Fox's mother's death was always going to be an injustice.

Fox changed after her mother's death and she pushed Clarke away for what Clarke was sure was due to her family's position in the Council. From the last she heard her old friend had been locked up in the sky box and was awaiting trial on her eighteenth birthday.

Still looking out at the stars the Blake's situation reminded her of how she felt seeing Fox loose her mother. She knew the Ark couldn't hold over a certain amount of people and that's why the birth laws were in affect but if the Ark's birth control failed that wasn't her fault. And she certainly wasn't going to let another family be ripped apart like her friend's was.

She was so lost in thought she didn't even notice when her friend sat down beside her. "I thought I'd find you hear".

Clarke turned and smiled at her best friend. He was still in his work clothing with jeans that were covered in dirt and a small piece of a green leaf tangled in his curly black hair.

She pulled the leaf out of his hair and handed it to him like it was some sort of prize. "Why do you work in Farm Station when you could have a much cleaner job that doesn't smell so much?"

He shrugged twirling the green leaf in his hand. "It makes me feel closer to Earth. Like even though we're in outer space a part of the planet is with us and I get to work with it. You know I always found the reading about the plants and greens of the Earth fascinating."

Truthfully, in Clarke's mind, that reasoning was much better than she had for going into the Medical field. She had never really had an interest for it until the first time she saw her mother work. And then it wasn't really about being a doctor as much as being someone her mother could be proud of. Plus it was something that could bring them together where other areas, like the Ark's politics, drew them apart.

It wasn't that she disliked being a doctor, just that she'd rather be drawing.

"What happened at work today?"

The question brought her back to the Blake's and what she was going to do to help them. She knew she couldn't get her mother involved. Her father was a possibility but then he might not like keeping secrets from her mom. Still she wasn't sure she could do this without help.

"I need to save someone. But I'm not sure how." She replied honestly without looking at him.

"Could you ask your Mom?"

She shook her head. "No. Not if I want to save them."

He seemed to think about it. "Are they in trouble with the law?"

She bit her lip and looked at him. "Maybe."

He nodded slowly and turned to look out through the glass windows of the bridge. Despite being the Chancellor's son, Clarke knew Wells shared many similar view points as her about the Ark's harsh laws. Or maybe it wasn't so much about the laws as the punishments that he disliked. Every crime, even the smallest, being punishable by death if you're over the age of eighteen can make you look at the law a different way.

"So what can I do to help?" He gave her a small smile.

And this was why Wells Jaha was her best friend.

…

Are you out of your mind?"

Clarke had left his quarters about three hours before and his time waiting for her to return had been filled with a lot of pacing. She had implied that she wasn't going to turn his family in but the truth was he didn't know her or trust her. A big part of him was prepared for two guards to come knocking at the door to arrest him and his mother.

So when she returned with a person dressed in full scrubs, surgeons cap, and doctors mask completely covering their face, his heart stopped and he became prepared for the worst.

Looking into the hall behind them he was relieved to see that no one had followed the two of them to the quarters and he shut the door anxiously as the two entered into the small living space.

"I have a plan." Clarke replied simply as she walked in and put down a large bag she had carried with her. She opened it up and pulled out a stethoscope and wrapped it around her neck in true doctor style.

Bellamy could feel his mouth drop agape as he stared at her in disbelief. "Who the hell is this?"

She looked over between Bellamy and the person she had brought. "Oh that's Wells."

"Wells Jaha?" He practically screamed but Clarke glared at him and shushed him.

"Will you be quiet. He's here to help and don't worry he doesn't know anything besides that someone is sick and needs help. We can trust him." She looked towards Wells who was now taking off the surgeons cap and mask.

"Listen I know what you're thinking. That because I'm the Chancellor's son I believe in everything the Council says and does. But it's not true." He pulled one of the metal chairs out from the table and sat down seemingly exhausted with the presumptions people had of him based on his birth. "All Clarke told me was that someone was really sick and that she needed my help to save their life. She asked me not to ask any questions or talk about what we are doing here today." He looked over at the blonde who seemed to be looking through her bag for something. "I trust Clarke." He looked at Bellamy "You can trust me. I won't say a word."

Bellamy wasn't sure if he believed Wells. But he knew that at this point, he didn't have a choice and whatever Clarke's plan was was his only chance to save his sister.

Clarke huffed at the bag and bit her lip in thought. Bellamy assumed that meant she hadn't found what ever she had been looking for but he didn't say anything. He watched as she turned and looked towards the bedroom that Octavia was in with his mother. She seemed to be in thought which made Bellamy worry she was making up some of this as she went along.

"I needed Wells because we're going to have to take Octavia to Medical so I can perform surgery". Clarke said still looking towards the room. "With the Ark's surveillance system it's important that we cover our tracts if we're going to remove her from the quarters." She looked towards Bellamy. "Wells is our decoy. Our story is that we came to these quarters to get our patient and bring them to the medical ward."

She turned back towards the bag and pulled out another doctors mask. Walking over to Bellamy she pulled the mask over his face and tying the string ends behind his head without moving her eyes away from his.

He felt his heart speed up at her closeness. He hadn't even know this girl twenty four hours and here he was about to trust her with the most important person in his life. Maybe he was crazy.

Then again here she was risking her own life to help a bunch of people who she had never met continue to break the law. And she had brought along the Chancellor's son and trusted him to keep quiet as well without a second thought.

Maybe they were all crazy.

"So I'm the patient?" Bellamy asked picking up on Clarke's plan."So why bring him?" He pointed his thumb towards Wells.

"Because I can't enter your quarters by myself and then leave with you and Octavia when she's never exited the quarters before." She said as she put her hands into Bellamy's hair and ruffled it up. "You're hair is too perfect. You need to look more disheveled and sickly" she added seeing his confusion.

He nodded slowly. "Okay so how do we get Octavia out of here?"

"That's where Wells comes in." She said turning away from him and walking back over to her bag. She began to pull out some blue scrubs identical to the one's Wells was wearing. "The camera's will pick up that a doctor in blue scrubs entered the quarters so it won't raise any questions when a doctor in blue scrubs exits the quarters. It's after hours but if anyone asks I'll say that you called and were complaining of the same stomach pains you had reported to have earlier that day and I took it upon myself to come and check on you and felt it necessary to bring you to the ward where there was more equipment" She smiled at her own idea.

"They don't exactly look alike" Bellamy said thinking aloud about her plan.

"We covered up Wells face and so he wouldn't be noticeable and we will do the same for Octavia. She will leave the quarters dressed as a doctor and it will look like we came to get you and bring you to the medical ward. Since the cameras only cover the halls, once we are in the ward I will be able to perform surgery on her and then we will bring her back in the same disguise. Wells will stay here and when we leave it will look as though two doctors came and went, the numbers will add up."

"What if they ask who the doctor with you was? And what if Octavia can't walk after surgery?" he asked thinking of all the ways this plan could go wrong.

Clarke sighed biting her lip again out of nervous habit. "It's not a full-proof plan Bellamy but for now it's all we've got. If complications arise we'll deal with them later. Okay?"

A moan escaped from the bedroom and Bellamy looked from the door back to Clarke.

"Okay."

…

Octavia was dripping in drops of sweat when Clarke and Bellamy walked into the bedroom to get her. Her long brown hair was drenched and stuck to her face like someone had glued it on her and there were so many drops on her face that Bellamy couldn't tell what was sweat and what was tears.

She sat up with an anxious look in her eyes as she glanced between them. Bellamy knew she was worried about Clarke turning them in. He didn't blame her. He was worried about the same thing.

Clarke took a seat on the edge of the bed as she explained to Octavia and Aurora the plan she had come up with. Aurora's eyes fluttered nervously over to Bellamy at the mention of the chancellor's son in the other room but they both knew there wasn't much they could do at this point. The damage was done and either Clarke and Wells would help save Octavia or they would turn them in.

They were on a floating ship in the sky, there wasn't exactly anywhere to run.

Octavia sat up readily using the little strength she had to get ready to help put Clarke's plan into action.

Bellamy went back into the main room with Wells so Clarke and Aurora could help Octavia put the scrubs on. Wells was still sitting on the table and was twirling a piece of loose fabric between his fingers.

He looked up, noticing Bellamy had come back. "So is your mom a seamstress?"

Bellamy took a seat across from him taking the fabric out of Wells' hands. "I thought you weren't going to ask any questions."

Wells shrugged "Sorry I was just curious. That's a lot of cloth."

Bellamy looked at the pile of fabric at had accumulated on the table. His mother had always been a seamstress so he had become accustomed to clothing and loose fabric lying all around the main room. Seamstresses weren't given a separate work space so Aurora had been forced to work from their dingy quarters which had its benefits and downfalls.

Octavia had started sewing when she was about nine and Aurora had taken advantage of her daughter's natural talent. She'd bring home numerous projects at once and she and Octavia would sit in the room for hours upon hours sewing up holes, chopping up items that were beyond repair for spare parts and reworking old clothes so they would be wearable for different ages or purposes.

Aurora had quickly become known around their station as the "Speedy Seamstress". No one could understand how she managed to undertake so many projects at once and finish them in such a timely manner. It got Aurora more business which helped their family but Bellamy couldn't help but feel frustrated with how much work his sister did for no credit at all.

Octavia didn't care. In fact she enjoyed the work because it gave her purpose and allowed her to feel as though she was working for her living on the Ark. She had explained all of this to Bellamy but he still didn't think she should have to work for a living she wasn't even allowed to really have in the first place.

"Curiosity can be dangerous" Bellamy replied as he aimlessly sorted the clothes neatly into piles.

Wells sighed and began to help Bellamy sort. "I'm not going to ask about who the patient is or why they can't go to medical on their own. I was just trying to make conversation."

Bellamy didn't have a chance to respond as the door opened and Clarke was helping Octavia walk out of the room with Aurora following behind. She was in complete scrubs and her hair had been tied back and stuffed into the surgeons cap. She looked exhausted but kept herself as steady as possible knowing this would only work if she played her part.

"Bellamy help her while I get the mask" Clarke motioned as he came over to prop his sister up so she could return to her bag. "The mask will cover a good portion of her face and as long as she keeps her head down as Wells did when we got here then she won't be seen." She helped Octavia with the mask before giving Bellamy a once over. "Put your mask back on too. You're sick remember? We're avoiding contamination."

Bellamy rolled his eyes but put the mask back on after Clarke had taken his place holding Octavia up. "Are we ready now?" He mumbled through the paper.

Clarke looked towards Octavia who was attempting to stand as straight as she could without keeling over. "Are you ready? This isn't going to be easy."

Octavia nodded though she was breathing heavily. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Clarke looked towards Bellamy with a nod. "Let's go".

Bellamy took over Clarke's place so he could help her walk through the halls. He took once last glance around the small quarters, wondering if this would be the last time he'd see it as his eyes laid over Wells. He gave his mother one last reassuring look.

"Your responsibility" She whispered knowing he knew the meaning behind her words.

TO BE CONTINUED


End file.
